Chapter 29
TWENTY-NINE
Thoughts tumbled around her head like a loose rock in a dryer, bouncing and clanging so loudly she couldn’t concentrate. What the hell had just happened?
Kasey had helped her to her feet and she’d nearly died as evidence of what they’d just done started sliding down the inside of her thighs.
He’d grinned at her as she darted past him to the bathroom.
Turning on the shower, she’d climbed in, not even waiting for the water to heat up, shrieking silently as the cold spray hit her square in the back.
Her own personal penance for her actions.
Grabbing a claw clip from the shower rod she kept it stashed on, she gathered her curls and pinned them to the top of her head, having just washed them several hours before.
She scrubbed her body as the water slowly warmed, and just about the time that it was comfortable, she turned it off and climbed out.
Wrapping the towel around her body, she exited, crossing to the bedroom quickly, only to stop when she found Kasey reclining on her pillows, his phone in hand, scrolling aimlessly.
The movement in the doorway must have caught his attention because he raised his eyes from the screen of his phone to hers and then that grin was back, his eyes mischievous.
“Now that’s a sight I could get used to,” he murmured huskily.
“Yeah, well don’t,” she snapped, striding into the bedroom and over to the dresser.
Snatching open the drawer, she grabbed a pair of boy short underwear and managed to step into them and pull them up her legs and into place without giving him a show.
Next, she took a black sports bra out and shoved her arms into it, pulling it over her head.
That was trickier, getting the tight material into place with the towel still tucked around her upper body, but she managed, though it was a struggle.
The towel dropped to the floor around her feet and she sighed in aggravation, but didn’t bother grabbing it back up.
She picked out a long-sleeved, olive-green shirt and tugged it over her head, then shoved her feet into the first pair of jeans she could find, tugging them up over her hips and fastening them.
Turning, she braced her hands on her hips and glared at him, where he still lay in the center of her bed, one knee raised, that foot flat on the bed.
“Why are you here, Kasey?” she demanded.
He impaled her with that gray-blue stare long enough to make her squirm. Crossing her arms over her middle, she cocked one hip out defensively.
“You ran.”
She rolled her eyes and he growled from where he was, the sound skittering over her nerves and making her shiver. “And?”
He rolled to a sitting position, throwing his legs over the side of the bed, then stood. “And? I told you I’d follow, Shaun.”
“Do you understand how creepy that is?” she demanded, though her heart had started hammering in her chest as he took slow, measured steps toward her. “Kind of stalkerish, don’t you think?”
“If I thought you didn’t want this as much as I do, sure,” he murmured, shoving his hands in his pockets in that classic Kasey move. “But you do, don’t you, darlin’? You just don’t want to admit it.”
Chewing on the inside of her cheek, she raised her eyes to somewhere over his shoulder to avoid looking him in the eyes.
“Why is it so impossible for you to admit that you’re enjoying this? I am. I would like the chance to explore this further.” He stepped into her line of sight, and she brought her gaze back to his. “So can we just enjoy this? See what happens?”
Everything in her was screaming no. This was dangerous, and the reason she had run from him in Colorado in the first place. She didn’t do casual hookups… but she wasn’t sure she was ready to let anyone in yet, either. Especially Kasey.
“I honestly can’t think about any of this right now,” Shaun finally said, shaking her head. “I really need to get to the hospital.”
“I can drive you,” he said, motioning toward the door. She swung her eyes up to his.
“No, that’s not necessary, really,” she mumbled. “You don’t want to sit in a hospital waiting room for who knows how long.”
“I can keep you company while you wait, too,” he said quietly, shrugging. “I don’t mind.”
“Kasey—”
He took her shoulders in his hands, pulling her toward him and kissing her soundly, effectively shutting her up. “Do you have to argue about everything?”
“It would seem so,” she grumbled, rolling her eyes up at him.
“Get your shoes on, grab your purse, do whatever you need to do to get ready, and we will head over there so you can be with your friend,” he said gently, turning her and giving her a soft shove out the bedroom door. “No more arguing.”
Glaring at him over her shoulder, she disappeared back into the bathroom, rifling through the few cosmetics that were in the drawer, the rest still packed in her suitcase that she hadn’t taken the time to unpack.
A touch of concealer under her eyes to combat the lack of quality sleep, a swipe of blush for color, and a quick flick of mascara on her lashes was enough to make her feel a little better.
Her hair was a hot mess, having fallen asleep with it still wet earlier, but she twisted it into a knot at the top of her head and re-secured it with the claw clip.
Tendrils framed her face, but there was no taming those.
Walking into the kitchen, she saw Steve standing on the counter, shamelessly purring and rubbing against Kasey, who was giving her all the attention she could possibly want.
“Steve, get your furry ass off the counter,” she snapped. “You bad girl.”
“You named your female cat Steve?” Kasey asked, and his eyebrows rose in surprise.
“She was a rescue. I found her out by the trash bins last year when she was like three weeks old, and apparently, I wasn’t very good at telling the difference between a male and female kitten.
I thought she was a he. I tried renaming her El but Steve had already stuck,” Shaun muttered, shoving her feet into her boots and then straightening, hands on her hips.
His answering grin annoyed the shit out of her.
“El? Like, Eleven?” he asked innocently. She rolled her eyes and shrugged. “Stranger Things fan, I take it?”
“Yeah, so? I went through a Pirates of the Caribbean phase when I was fourteen, too. Named our dog Rum so I could yell through the house ‘Why’s the Rum gone?’.”
Kasey’s burst of laughter made her lips twitch with the need to smile, but she fought it back as she pulled on her winter coat. “There’s no way that’s a true story.”
“Swear to God,” she said and crossed her finger over her heart in an X as they exited her apartment. “Ask Free. I’m sure he remembers. Jodi was obsessed with Orlando Bloom. She wanted to name the dog Will Turner. I won.”
Kasey held his hand out toward her and she stared at it, then raised her eyes to his in confusion. “Keys, Shaun.”
“You’re not driving my truck,” Shaun laughed, shaking her head.
“Really? You don’t trust me to drive?” he asked, stepping between her and the car door. “I drive for a living.”
“Yeah, on perfectly conditioned pavement making only left banks,” she muttered dryly, and fully enjoyed the annoyance that flashed across his stupidly handsome face. “You don’t know the first thing about driving on Michigan winter roads, Kasey.”
“Shaun…”
“Look, I have been driving myself since I was sixteen. I don’t need you or anyone else to chauffeur me around.
I’m not some passenger princess, Kase,” she snapped, throwing her arms wide.
“If that’s what you’re looking for, then you might as well hit the road, because that’s not the kind of woman I am. ”
“You’re not the kind of woman that likes to be taken care of?” he asked, crossing his arms over his chest.
Her heart thudded in her chest. She took a long time to answer before saying quietly, “No. I’m not. I don’t need to be taken care of, or have some man do what they think is best for me because they think they know better.”
His dark blonde brows rose just the slightest in surprise, and she dropped her gaze to the snow-covered ground before reaching around him for the door handle.
He stepped aside, and she climbed into the driver’s seat.
She started the truck and then swallowed hard when he walked around the hood to open the passenger side door before climbing up into the seat.
Neither one of them said anything as they fastened their seatbelts, and then Shaun backed the truck out of the driveway.
The short ride to the local hospital was quiet, which Shaun was grateful for. Her mind was still a mess; a lot had happened in a very short amount of time and her brain was still trying to play catch up.
The absolute kaleidoscope of emotions that Kasey elicited from her were on their own confusing as hell. Up until three days ago, she’d been convinced she hated him with everything in her.
Two days ago, she’d had a grudging acceptance that maybe he wasn’t all that terrible.
Thirty-six hours ago, she’d been drunk on tequila and high on a multitude of world altering orgasms.
The last eighteen hours had been an exhausting rollercoaster.
She liked the witty, snarky banter between them.
She liked the way those gray-blue eyes watched her, made her feel like the most beautiful woman in the world, even just for a few moments.
She liked his sense of humor when he wasn’t being a total dick.
She liked his smile, that dimple that showed up in the center of one cheek, the quiet way he seemed to watch everyone and everything all at once, missing nothing.
She liked the way his kisses made the world disappear, or the way she’d never felt more alive than when she was with him.
No matter what they were doing. Arguing. Teasing. Fucking. She liked all of it.
She liked… well, him. She liked him.
FML.
Shaun peeked at him out of the corner of her eye as she drove, both hands on the wheel to keep them to herself.
She hated to admit it, but she’d known all along that if she left without a word, he would follow her.
He had told her he would. If she were to be honest with herself, for once, she had wanted him to follow her.
What woman didn’t like being pursued, wooed?
But that was where things got complicated.
Where her mind started balking like a damn spooked horse.
The last thing she needed, the last thing she wanted, was another man expecting things from her, speaking over her, making decisions for her without giving a thought or consideration to what she wanted.
Kasey didn’t ask for anything. He gave and he took, without remorse or apology.
She didn’t want a man that wouldn’t let her have her own voice, her own opinions, her own choices, just because he thought he knew better.
No matter how much she wanted Kasey, whatever this was between them would never work. If she let him in, he would push and push until she finally caved, giving in to whatever his requests and demands would be of her. And she would hate herself in the end.
No, it was better to end this now, rip the band-aid off and say ‘sayonara’ than to let any man have that kind of control of her. Even if the orgasms were top notch, chef’s kiss, crème de le creme… nope. No man was worth that. Hell to the naw.
So when she finally pulled into the parking lot of the hospital and climbed out of the truck, she squared her shoulders and rounded the hood, stopping as he stepped close to her. “Kasey—”
“Nope,” he muttered, laying a finger vertically along her lips to shush her, and she glared up at him.
“Whatever bullshit excuse that’s about to come out of that pretty mouth of yours can wait.
I realize that you’re stuck up in that head of yours for God only knows what reason—though I do think I’m starting to see the big picture here, darlin’, and we’ll talk about that later.
Don’t let that douche canoe and whatever dumb shit he did ruin what could be a very enjoyable weekend.
That’s all I’m asking for; just the weekend, Shaun.
If by the end of the weekend you still feel the same way, that will be it. ”
He removed his finger from her lips and cupped either side of her head in his hands, leaning in to press his mouth to hers, and she melted when his tongue swept between her lips. Damn the man could kiss.
Whispering directly against her lips, he breathed, “If you say the words, I’ll walk away, and you can go back to hating me if that’s what you’d like. If that’s what makes it easier for you to pretend there isn’t something here.”